


On fandom’s content producers and tomatoes giveaways: why we keep asking for comments, reblogs and kudos.

by TerresDeBrume



Series: Meta crossposts [7]
Category: Fandom - Fandom
Genre: Fandom, Gen, Meta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-16
Updated: 2017-08-16
Packaged: 2018-12-16 02:03:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11818908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TerresDeBrume/pseuds/TerresDeBrume
Summary: A meta I originally wrote for a friend and posted on Tumblr, crossposted here for reference.





	On fandom’s content producers and tomatoes giveaways: why we keep asking for comments, reblogs and kudos.

So I’ve just had a conversation with a friend about free content, and why content producers in fandom (indiscriminately, really) keep asking for kudos/comments/feedback despite the fact that we agreed to do things out of passion and for free…and I figured it might be helpful for people who don’t get why we keep asking for those.

  
  


See, the thing is, when we start creating things for fandom, we do agree to unpaid labor—no one expects to make money off their fanwork. **However, we do not agree to unrecognized labor.**

Here’s the thing: when you read a fanfic, when you look at fanart, when you watch a fanvid, etc. **You are benefiting from our labor**. If it weren’t for us and the time we spend working on fics/vids/comics/songs/websites/etc. You wouldn’t have a fandom to enjoy, because no one would feed into it.

  
  


**This is okay.** It really is! We love creating content, we love sharing it with you! But the implicit deal here is that **if you benefit from our labor, you have to acknowledge it from time to time**.

It’s not a matter of us promising free things then asking to be paid once you’ve consumed it, it’s just that we need to, occasionally, hear ‘hey, you worked for X hours on this thing and that’s pretty cool.’

It’s like when you help out at home: you don’t expect to be paid, but you do expect not to be blamed for being a lazy butt, because you **did** get off your butt and help. It’s the same for us: when we ask you to share/comment/kudo our content, we’re not asking you to give us a salary, we’re asking you to take a sec to say ‘thanks for your efforts’.

Obviously, you don’t have to, it’s just the polite thing to do, and also the best way to ensure that we won’t start feeling taken for granted and quit because we’ve had enough of it.

  
  


**If you want an analogy with non-fandom stuff, think of it as someone giving away their excess tomatoes.** No one expects you to give them money or pay for the tomatoes you take from their stand.

However, the polite thing to do is to say ‘thanks’ as you leave with your free tomatoes, and the extra nice thing to do is to let them know, afterwards, if you liked their tomatoes.

It’s also the polite thing to do not to yell at them if the tomatoes aren’t as perfect as supermarket tomatoes* or if you’re allergic to tomatoes and would have preferred to get carrots.

  
  


Of course, there’s nothing stopping you from just picking up a box of tomatoes and leave without a word/a smile/a thank you. But eventually, the tomatoes-giver is going to get tired of being treated like an accessory or a machine, and they’ll stop giving things away.

And everyone’s the worse off for it.

* * *

*Note that, like mainstream/classically-produced medias, supermarket tomatoes aren’t always perfect either, but since you paid for those tomatoes, you’re totally entitled to ask for a refund if they make you sick ;)

(Also, please note that many people already do this and **we love you**.)


End file.
